The pressure weighed on Hiruzen Sarutobi's shoulders like a mountain.
The evidence was irrefutable, the crowd was furious, and the Uchiha had displayed devastating power.
There was also a crisis of trust that could send every clan with a kekkei genkai into a panic and shake Konoha's foundations.
Caught in the middle was Shimura Danzō, his friend of decades, whose reputation was now utterly ruined and who had become the target of public outrage.
Silence. Still more silence...
The only sounds were the low rumbling of the three Susanoo and everyone's heavy breathing.
Everyone watched the Third Hokage, waiting for his decision.
That decision would determine Konoha's future!
It would determine... whether a civil war erupted today, one capable of crippling Konoha or even destroying it completely.
Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes, aging ten years in an instant.
When he opened them again, his gaze held nothing but resolve.
He knew there was no retreat left, nor any room to smooth things over.
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips moved, ready to speak under that crushing pressure...
Genya looked past everyone toward a slightly nervous figure in the crowd.
She was a young female ninja with rare, beautiful red eyes, standing beside Kakashi and Might Guy.
She was clearly one of the chunin drawn over by the commotion: Kurenai Yuhi.
Genya gave the Third Hokage no chance to speak. He suddenly raised his voice and called toward Kurenai Yuhi in a playful tone, as though chatting up a woman on the street.
"Hey! The red-eyed beauty beside the bushy-browed guy with the bowl cut!"
That shout came rather out of nowhere...
Everyone.
Danzo, who was preparing to fight to the death or submit to judgment; Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was under immense pressure; and the Uchiha and Konoha ninja locked in their